Doctorate

Search for an expert

Research projects

A good gut feeling for overall health

The diversity of the bacteria in our gut could be a vital marker for our overall health. Massey researchers want to test whether taste perception, dietary intake, eating behaviour, sleep and physical activity influence and modify the gut microbiome and how it impacts health, such as metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes.

A new role for HDAC4 in neuronal morphogenesis and memory

Fruit flies (Drosophila) are the key to fundamental research into how long-term memories are formed and could hold the answer to treating disorders like autism, schizophrenia and depression.
A team at Massey led by Helen Fitzsimons were awarded Marsden research funding in 2017 to investigate the role of the histone deacetylase HDAC4 in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Her team recently showed that HDAC4 plays a critical role in both long-term memory formation and neuronal development in the fruit fly Drosophila.
This project will research the nuclear and non-nuclear roles of HDAC4 in memory and neuronal morphogenesis by investigating the mechanisms through which it interacts with cytoskeletal regulators that modulate these processes.

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria in dairy cattle

The development and transmission of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a complex and multifaceted process. One of the main drivers identified for the development and spread of AMR is the use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine as well as for agricultural use.

A project led by Distinguished Professor Nigel French and Dr Sarah Burgess investigated this issue and developed recommendations on how to manage antimicrobial use in order to prevent bacteria in the gut of dairy cattle developing AMR.

Bacteriophages – the most numerous entity on the planet

Phages target specific bacterial strains in nature and as a primary parasite of bacteria they are responsible both for bacterial mortality and for transferring genes between bacterial strains.
A team led by Heather Hendrickson are investigating, characterising and sequencing these entities in order to learn more about the role they play in the microbial world and their diversity. The group currently study The group currently study Pseudomonas phages, Lactococcus phages, Paenibacillus phages and Mycobacterium phages.

Bugs’n’Bones study hopes to aid ageing population

As the world grapples with an ever-growing ageing population, it is estimated that one in three women over the age of 50 will experience bone fractures due to osteoporosis, a disease which causes low bone mass. Our researchers are investigating modifiable factors that could prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Horizontal gene transfer is a powerful source of change in bacteria that can significantly aid their ability to survive. These rules are governed by architecture imparting sequences (AIMS), which are in all bacterial chromosomes. A team of international researchers including Massey’s Dr Heather Hendrickson discovered that if sets of AIMS are well matched between a donor and recipient genome, then the DNA moving between those genomes can be maintained. The opposite is true if they are not well matched, effectively establishing the rules of transfer.

Creating a better picture of human diversity

Professor Murray Cox received a $925,000 Marsden Grant in 2017 to look at creating a more representative picture of human diversity, with immediate downstream relevance to the history and health of Pacific peoples.

The research will focus on small traditional villages in eastern Indonesia to analyse and quantify how much DNA diversity has functional effects. This will provide evolutionary insight into the genome dynamics of traditional human populations within the kinds of small community networks where most human evolution historically occurred.

Dairy shown to improve bone health of Kiwi children

Massey University research shows children drinking milk at school have greater increases in the size and strength of their bones, compared to children who are not involved in the Fonterra Milk for Schools programme.

Does a sweet tooth affect sugar intake?

Our research identifying a link between taste perception and total calorie intake and processed food consumption supports the scientific evidence for an urgent need for food reformulation to improve health outcomes.

Fighting a dangerous disorder

The use of anaesthesia is regarded as one of the safest medical interventions, however, major complications—even death—can occur.

Tracing the course of a person’s reaction to anaesthesia is a complex problem. Professor Kathryn Stowell is leading the research on malignant hyperthermia (MH) – a genetic disorder that triggers a serious reaction to anaesthesia.

If MH-susceptibility can be determined prior to general anaesthesia, an alternative non-triggering and safe anaesthetic procedure is used, potentially mitigating severe complications and possibly death during routine surgeries.

Finding the Achilles’ heel of breast cancer

APOBEC3 proteins provide a key part of our defence against viral pathogens. They act by attacking single-stranded viral DNA (ssDNA) and destroy their genetic information by mutating the cytidines to uridines. For this defence to work, it is essential to distinguish between pathogen DNA and our own genetic information. How A3 proteins recognize specific ssDNA and specific pathogens, but neither double-stranded DNA nor RNA, remains unknown. The study aims to identify this recognition strategy and help develop a compound to mitigate this issue. The work is being done in collaboration with University of Minnesota.

Humans may have twice as many functional genes

While some genes in our DNA control the colours of our eyes, hair and even our risk of disease, other genes have seemed to serve no apparent biological function. A study co-authored by Massey’s Dr Sebastian Schmeier produced a comprehensive collection (28,000) of long non-coding RNA molecules and summarised for the first time their expression pattern in the major human cell types and tissues. It found evidence of evolutionary selection and links with major diseases.

Is your pet making you sick?

Household pets are a possible source of multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections, which the World Health Organization has identified as a major threat to human health, with numbers of infections on the rise.

A multi-disciplinary and cross-institution study aimed to identify novel risk factors for the growing number of community-acquired infections in New Zealand, including possible links between companion animals carrying resistant bacteria and human infection.

Love them bones

Osteoporosis is one of the leading healthcare issues worldwide. It is estimated about 22 per cent of women over 50 years of age will develop osteoporosis. The "Love Them Bones" study is led by Dr Thomson, with Dr Louise Brough, Dr Janet Weber, Professor Jane Coad, Professor Marlena Kruger and international expert Dr Mary-Jane De Souza, Director of the Women's Health and Exercise Lab from Pennsylvania State University. It asks, "What can young women (18-25) do to reduce their risk of osteoporosis later in life?"

Molecular interactions between bacteria and eukaryotic hosts

The health and wellbeing of plants, animals and humans is to a large extent determined by the microbes with which they co-exist. Some bacteria are pathogens causing diseases, but many others enhance growth and confer disease resistance.This project is using modern tools in molecular biology to elucidate the mechanisms of bacterial colonisation on the surfaces of plants and human tissues.

Pathogens in the Pacific

Massey scientists are developing a potentially game-changing low-cost mobile genetic diagnostics system to detect and quantify pathogens in food, water, humans, livestock and crops in Pacific Islands is among projects Massey University will lead in partnership with UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

Reducing the burden of leptospirosis

A common workplace hazard in New Zealand’s agricultural sector, leptospirosis can cause disease and death in animals. It can also transfer to humans resulting in anything from a minor flu-like sickness to admission to hospital and long-term illness.

This project, led by Associate Professor Jackie Benschop, will attempt to address gaps in leptospirosis knowledge that will inform control strategies by identifying risk factors, sources and pathways for human infection. It was awarded over $1m from the HRC in 2018.

Saving our honeybees

The bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae causes the honeybee disease American FoulBrood (AFB) the most serious disease of these important pollinators in New Zealand. The pathogen is spread through spores, which once ingested by young bee larvae, rapidly multiply and kill by breaking down the larvae’s body. The highly infectious nature of the pathogen means that once the signs of AFB are recognized in a New Zealand hive, it must be destroyed within seven days. Scientists from Massey University, led by Dr Heather Hendrickson, are investigating a natural bioprotective agent that may be key to keeping the pathogen at bay.

Take it from the birds

Dr Alona Ben-Tal led a project that developed mathematical equations to describe how the avian respiratory system works. In birds, air flows in one direction during both inspiration and expiration, in an area of the lungs where gas exchange occurs. The project provides a new explanation on the way in which this unidirectional flow is generated.

AL Rae Centre for Genetics and Breeding

Centre for Metabolic Health Research

The Centre for Metabolic Health Research facilitates interdisciplinary research in metabolic health, with key aspects being the prevention of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and the maintenance of mobility and functionality throughout the lifecycle.

Centre for Postharvest and Refrigeration Research

The Centre for Postharvest and Refrigeration Research does research and consultancy to provide cost-effective solutions to industry problems. We work on a wide range of fruit, vegetable, cut flower, seafood and aquaculture products.

Digesta group

Researchers in the Digesta group share an interest in the physical processing of digesta within the human gastrointestinal tract. This interest is borne principally out of the need to understand how digesta mixes to allow digestive enzymes to act on nutrient particles, and how the nutrients are transported to cells in the wall of the intestine.

EpiCentre

The EpiCentre is the largest veterinary epidemiology training and research centre in Australasia. It is widely considered to be one of the leading groups in the world. We have expertise in the understanding and control of disease in animal populations, the transmission of disease from animals to humans, and hazards in food of animal origin.

Hopkirk Institute

The Hopkirk Institute is a joint institute – scientists are from both AgResearch and Massey University. It has the southern hemisphere's largest concentration of health sciences for pastoral-fed animals.

Scientists collaborate on researching solutions for the sustainable control of parasitic diseases, primarily in sheep and cattle including:

Infectious Disease Research Centre (IDReC)

The Centre engages in applied research concerning multihost pathogens and fundamental research regarding pathogen evolution and disease emergence. We cover the spectrum of population-based infectious disease research from microbiology, through population genetics, epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, disease ecology, statistics, mathematical modelling, and public health.

New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre

The Centre, hosted by Massey University, focuses on better ways of detecting hazards in the food production chain and reducing the risk of food-borne illness to consumers. The Centre aims to provide an internationally credible science base for decisison-making in public health and the food industry.

Professor Benoit Guieysse was awarded $920,000 from the Royal Society's Marsden Fund for the project 'The greedy algae that are great for our environment: why do they pay an energy penalty to gorge phosphate?'

Professor Peter Lockhart was awarded $925,000 from the Royal Society's Marsden Fund for the project 'Improved modelling in evolutionary transcriptomics and proteomics will advance understanding of plant adaptation'.

Dr Collette Bromhead was appointed chief executive of the New Zealand Organisation of Rare Diseases (NZORD). The health advocacy organisation represents the interests of New Zealanders affected by rare disorders by promoting research and partnering with clinicians to improve diagnostics, treatments and support.

Massey University biochemist Kathryn Stowell was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015 for her discovery of a novel gene variant in the rare genetic disorder Malignant Hyperthermia.

Professor Emeritus David Penny received one of the highest honours in the science world in 2017, being named a National Academy of Sciences foreign associate. The academy is an American-based institution that recognises achievement in science by election to membership for outstanding contributions to research. Its membership has included the late Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

Associate Professor David Hayman was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship in 2017 worth $160,000 a year for five years. The Fellowship is awarded to support talented early to mid career researchers.

Professor Murray Cox has been awarded the Te Rangi Hīroa Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for his work decoding how past societies lived through their genetic data.
The Medal recognises excellence in the social sciences and was established in memory of Sir Peter Buck.

Massey University genomics specialist Mr Richard Fong has received an award from the Oxford Nanopore Technologies company in the United Kingdom for utilising the company's sequencer to develop a diagnostic technique for tuberculosis in Myanmar.